Scan barcode
dlrosebyh's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is the tale of a rich Indian Brahmin who gives up his privileged lifestyle in search of enlightenment. Hesse combines several philosophical perspectives—including Eastern faiths, Jungian archetypes, and Western individualism—into a singular interpretation of life as it is revealed through the pursuit of genuine meaning by one man.
This is such a fantastic tale of a man learning the true meaning of serenity after passing through several stages, in my opinion. I wasn't sure whether I would like it because I don't read philosophy books very often, and they tend to be hit or miss for most people, but this one is certainly a hit because Siddharta is somewhat similar to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death
jolineliest's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
bookishlucy's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Misogyny
franzi_'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death
nomsain's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
bluejayreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
I originally thought this was a fictionalized biography of the Buddha, and was very confused when the titular Siddhartha's journey didn't line up with what I knew of the Buddha Siddhartha's story. But the protagonist of this story is a completely different character who just happens to have the same name.
There is no real plot in this book, unless you count the kind-of character arc of Siddhartha searching for enlightenment. He becomes an aescetic and masters all those teachings and he meets the Buddha and recognizes the wisdom in his teachings but chooses not to become a disciple (this is where I looked at the Wikipedia article for this book and discovered I was not in fact reading a fictionalized biography of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha), and does a bunch of other stuff on his journey to become enlightened.
This may be my modern sensibilities talking, a strange choice by the translator (this book was originally written in German), or the 1920s having a very different way of expressing friendship, but I choose to believe this book is queerer than it seems on the surface. Siddhartha's best friend Govinda is obviously completely in love with Siddhartha, with several paragraphs talking about how much Govinda loves every aspect of Siddhartha's face and body and personality, and it must have been at least somewhat reciprocated because they call each other "my dear." Siddhartha did have a female lover, but he later moved in with a man and at one point they raise a child (Siddhartha's with his female lover) together. There's nothing explicitly queer anywhere, but I don't think the subtext is exactly subtle.
This book is best understood when you have the context of Hermann Hesse's life. Hermann was very depressed, didn't fit into the bourgeois society he grew up in, and couldn't find meaning in having fun and being rich like his peers did, so he went to India to try and find enlightenment in Eastern philosophy. He didn't find it, so he wrote a novel where the protagonist has the enlightenment experience he wishes he had. (And Hermann himself being not into women would explain why he couldn't seem to stay interested in any of his wives - although considering this book and that his Wikipedia page hints nothing about him being gay, I wouldn't be surprised if he were asexual and romantically interested in men but his strict religious upbringing meant he was never comfortable acting on anything.) This is all speculation, of course, but I think it explains a lot.
Much of the philosophy in this book is obscure bordering on incomprehensible. From reading Hermann's Wikipedia page his personal philosophy was that each person has to find their own individual path to god, and that seems to be the moral of Siddhartha (just replace "god" with "enlightenment"). This book's redeeming quality is that it's less than 100 pages long. If this were a longer book I probably wouldn't have finished it, but since it's so short it didn't drag too much. And even though the philosophy came off as esoteric and unclear, it did end up being a cute little story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Self harm and Sexual content
Minor: Animal death
irisirae's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
" He smiled at the river. Was this not the river in which he had once wished to drown himself - hundred of years ago - or had he dreamt it?"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
kyfrain's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I went into this book with high expectations and wow did they exceed them. i wanted to get a new way to look at life out of this and i got that doubled. i fell in love with the philosophy that siddhartha spoke of in the final few pages of the novel. i will absolutely be rereading this and annotating it, and possibly even claiming it as my favorite novel to date.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Death
goldn_n's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I would not take this as a way to learn about Buddhism but rather life and its stages. Although it is researched, Buddhism is not the central theme of the book . It is more about self-reflection.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
More...